Spring-hinge for jewelry-cases.



L. E. BROWN.

SPRING HINGE FOR JEWELRY CASES.

APPLICATION FILED 00'r.s,1913.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

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' i UNITED sTAtrEs PATENT oEEIoE.

LOUIS E. BROWN, 0F ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 FARRINGTON MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, 0F ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, CORPORATION 0F MAINE.

SPRING-HINGE FOR JEWELRY-CASES.

Speoication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS E. Brower, a citizen of the United States, residing at Roxbury, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvementin Spring-Hinges for Jewelry-Cases=, of which the following description, in connectlon with the accompanying drawing, 1s a speciication, like characters on the drawing representing likeparts.

This invention relates to Jewelry boxes and the like, and more particularly to springs for such boxes.

The object of the present inventlon- 1s to provide a new and' improved sprlng forl such boxes, one which may be cheaply manufactured, easily applied, and conveniently secured in position, and one which will be durable and reliable in use.

In accordance with my invention li provide a spring having' its body extending transversely to the axis of the hinge and having one or' both ends bent inwardly along the hinge members and coperating therewith, the spring and hinge members being so arrangedthat when the box member is in closed position the body of the spring will be bent forwardly under tension away from the axis of the hinge and the body of the spring will be bent away from the end or ends coperating with the hinge memberl or members. In my preferred' form the hinge is made separate from the box, the spring embraces the hinge and both ends extend inwardly toward the hinge axis and are clamped betweenl the hinge straps and the backs of the base and cover respectively to which the hinge straps are secured.

The novel features of my invention will be fully disclosed in the following specification and the accompanying drawingI and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referrin to the drawings in which a preferred orm of my invention 1s lllustrated, Figure 1 is a sectional view aof a jewelry box taken on the-lme' 1 1, Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a similar sectionall view, parts being broken away showing the box as open, and Fig.v 3 is a sectional vlew on the line 3-3, Fig. 1. Q

Referring to the drawings 1n detail the base of the box is indicated at 1 and the cover at 2. The cover is connected to the box by a hinge having its lower strap 3 connected to the base of the box and its upper strap 4 connected to the top or cover. A. spring catch 5 is provided to hold the cover in closed position and this is operated by a push button 6.

In the embodiment illustrated the spring 7 is shaped to form hooks to embrace the hinge members, the ends being` positioned between the hinge and the back of the base and cover. A clamp 8 extends along the back of the bese and through holesin the base' and hinge thus securing the hinge to the base with the end* oii the spring firmly clamped between. A similar clamp' 9 secures the cover and the hinge together, clamping the other end of the spring therebetween. The back portions of the base and cover are recessed exteriorly as illustrated at 10A and 11 to receive the clamps so that when. the clamps are in position a substantially plane surface will be presented to receive covering material suchas is usually applied to boxes of this type. The spring is normally of the shape shown in Fig. 2. When the box is closed the spring yields so as to take the form shown in Fig'. 1, that is, the body portion of the spring bends forwardly away from the axis of the hinge to permit the ends to lie in the same plane and the spring is under tension. The spring is made of such a size that when the cover is in open position as shown in Fig. 2 the spring will embrace the outer edges of the 'hinge and the body of the spring will engage the knuckle of the hinge to predetermine' the open position of the box.

When the hinge members are rotated relatively to each other about the pivot from the position in which the box is open to the closed position the ends of the spring swing backwardly bending the bodv of the spring, and also the outer edges of the hinge are moved apart thus forcing the hooks of the spring to move farther from each other. Accordingly the spring may properly be described as exerting two forces upon the hinge, one a bending moment due to the bending of the body and ends whereby the ends exert a bending stress upon the hinge, and the other a force of compression wheref by the outer edges of the hinge members are pressed toward each other. 'Ihc bending moment is greatest when the eovcr is in fully closed position and diminishes as the cover opens returning the spring toward its normal shape.

'Ihe force of compression exerted by the body of the spring whereby the outer edges of the hinge are pressed toward each other will not tendv to open the box when fully closed since the line of pressure is on the wrong side of the axis of the hinge, but as the box opens the position of the line of compression changes and this compressive force becomes operative to continue the opening movement. 'Ihe function of initiating the opening movement of the cover 1s thus accomplished 'by the inturned ends of the spring. It will of course be understood that the compressive force is in fact due to a certain bending of the body of the spring and in this sense is a bending stress but for the purposes of this specification` and to make the operation of the preferred form of spring clear the respective forces may properly be described as a bending force exerted by the ends of the spring and a compressive force exerted by the body of the spring.

I have described this spring as having both ends extending inwardly toward the axis of the hinge and have shown these ends clamped in position against the hinge. This particular construction however is not essential it being only necessary that a part of the spring should act upon the hinge to press the knuckle of the hinge forwardly especially at the beginning of the opening movement in order to initiate the action of the spring and that the bending of the body of the spring acting against the face of the hinge members should bring the hinge members into open position.

As will be clear from the foregoing description I provide a spring which can be cheaply manufactured from a strlp of spring metal by cutting the same into lengths and bending to the necessary shape. The spring has the advantage also that it can be easily applied during the assembling of the parts of the box. The hinge is opened to an angle corresponding to that of the spring and the spring is slipped over the end of the hinge and moved to the desired position. After being placed in position in this manner it gives no further trouble during the process of assembling since it remains in position on the hinge and is not thereafter separately handled. rllhe trouble of flexing the spring andl slipping it into the box is thus avoided.

I have illustrated one form of my improved spring a'nd have described it as applied to a jewelry box. It will be obvious that springs constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention may be made are capable of numerous other uses than that illustrated. Accordingly the claims are to be interpreted as contemplating such variations in form and manner of use.

Havin fully described my invention what I c aim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is;

1. In a box the combination with a base and a cover having hinge members pivoted together, of a spring extending transversely of the hinge axis and arranged to be ex tended under tension when the cover moves from open to closed position and having its ends extending toward each other and connected to the hinge -members to be bent backwardly thereby under tension when the cover moves from open to closed position.

2. In a box the combination of a base and a cover, a hinge, a spring extending transversely of the axis of the hinge having its ends bent inwardly toward the axis of the hinge and engaging against the respective straps of the hinge and having its central portion bent forwardly away from said hinge under tension when the cover is in closed position, means rigidly connecting the base, one strap of the hinge and one end of the spring together and means rigidly connecting the cover, the other strap of the hinge, and the other end of said spring together.

3. In a box the combination. with a base and a cover having hinge members pivoted together, of 'a spring having its body extending transversely to the axis of the hinge and acting against the hinge members at its ends with one end bent back to form a hook extending toward the axis of and engaging the rear face of the hinge, the parts being so constructed and arranged that when the cover is in closed position the body of the spring will be bent away from the axis of the hinge under tension and the said hook end will be sprung away from the body under tension whereby the said hook end will act to swing the hinge members rearwardly about the pivot and the body of the spring will act to continue such movement.

4. A box comprising a base and a cover having back portions extending toward each other and presenting exterior recesses, a hinge positioned inside of said box and parallel to said back portions, a spring embracing said hinge and having its ends extending inwardly toward the axis of the hinge between the hinge straps and the said back portions, fastening clamps positioned in said recesses and extending through holes in the base and cover respectively and through holes in the hinge and bent over to secure the hinge to the base and cover thereby clam ing the ends of the spring between the hlnge and the base and cover.

5. In a box, the combination with base in a variety of shapes and that such springs land a cover having hinge members connected together, of a spring extending name to this specification, in the presence transversely to the hinge axis and connected of twosubscribmg Witnesses. at its opposite ends to the base and cover LOUIS E BROWN respectively, one end extending along one k 5 of the hinge members and being rigidly Witnesses:

connected thereto. EBER JORDAN,

In testimony whereof, I have signed my H. J. F ARRINGTON. 

